Guidolin: 'Di Natale will face Roma'

Francesco Guidolin confirms Antonio Di Natale will play against Roma tomorrow despite fatigue, as Udinese cling to third place.

Francesco Guidolin confirms Antonio Di Natale will play against Roma tomorrow despite fatigue, as Udinese cling to third place.

So far this season the captain has avoided playing twice in a single week, so Wednesday evening’s midweek round is a tough proposition.

“I spoke to Totò. Clearly three games in seven days are heavy going for everyone, especially someone who is not that young anymore, but he reassured me. He is in good shape and will play all three,” said the Coach.

“We have to be aware that the victory over Parma is just a stepping stone and it’s all about being ready for Roma, who in my view are among the best teams in Serie A. They’ll also be very fired up and determined to win back the fans after their defeat to Lecce.

“At this moment of the season with midweek rounds the psychological aspect is very important. We must be ready and face it as if we had lost our last game, so we have the same intensity. Tomorrow will be an extremely complicated encounter.

“Roma have not been very consistent, but they are capable of great things and it is dangerous that we are facing them after a defeat.”

The Giallorossi and Coach Luis Enrique still maintain they can achieve third place, but they are seven points adrift of Lazio compared to Udinese’s three-point gap.

“This is a challenge for European places in general. Qualification for international tournaments is a very important objective. We are there and intend to stay in that zone as long as possible, as we have done since the start of the season,” added Guidolin.